Aussie farmers contribute billions
National Farmers’ Federation President Jock Laurie said new figures released by the Federal Government show that Australian farmers contributed over $43 billion in gross production value to the Australian economy over the past year.
The figures show the enormous contribution Australia’s 136,000 farms make to the economy.
“Australian farmers are seriously punching above their weight. Averaged out, these figures mean that each farm is contributing over $316,000 in terms of gross economic value and productivity – not to mention the supply of food and fibre to consumers both at home and abroad,” Mr Laurie said.
“These figures are up $3 billion on the year before, reflecting the end of a decade of drought and more favourable seasonal conditions for many farmers, particularly cotton and wheat farmers in eastern Australia.”
According to the figures, the highest performing industries in terms of gross production value over the previous year were grains ($10.6 billion), red meat ($10.4 billion) and horticulture ($8 billion).
Mr Laurie said while the figures show agricultural production is increasing, the declining rate of the growth in production is of concern, as the current trend will not meet the requirements of the expected boom in population. Full story